Stunts Biography - Alan Gibbs

Episodes

tos

The Enterprise is transporting the Medusan ambassador Kollos back to its homeworld. The Medusans are superb navigators thanks to their unique mental abilities; however, they are so tremendously ugly that the mere sight of a Medusan is thought to be enough to drive any person completely insane. Vulcans are able to look at a Medusan with the aid of a protective visor, but even this protection is insufficient for a Human. As a result, Kollos is travelling inside a protective case which he only opens under selected circumstances.

Kollos beams aboard with his assistants Larry Marvick and Dr. Miranda Jones. Marvick was one of the designers of the Enterprise, much to Scotty's pleasure, whilst Dr. Jones is a powerful Human telepath who is able to communicate with the Medusans. She has undergone Vulcan training which allows her to look at a Medusan without becoming insane; her mission is to help the Medusans to become navigators aboard Federation Starships, with Marvick adapting the controls for their use.

During the voyage Marvick confesses his love for Jones and begs her to leave Kollos to live with him, but she rebuffs his approach. Jealous, Marvick attempts to kill Kollos but the ambassador opens his casing, revealing himself to Marvick and sending him insane. Marvick takes control of the Enterprise, sending it beyond the energy barrier at the galactic rim before he dies of shock.

With the Enterprise stranded in uncharted space with no way to plot a course back, Kirk decides to let Kollos use his navigational abilities to try and find a way back across the barrier. He orders Spock to meld with Kollos so that the first officer can pilot the ship under his direction; Dr. Jones objects to the plan, claiming that she alone can contact the Medusan. McCoy, having been observing Jones throughout the mission, reveals that she is in fact able to look at a Medusan not because of any mental training but because she is in fact completely blind; she wears a sensor net on her clothing to enable her to walk around normally, but would be unable to pilot the Enterprise with this technology.

Kirk, thinking that Jones would be jealous of Spock's superior mental abilities to the extent that she might interfere with his mind meld, attempts to distract her whilst Spock pilots the ship back. The attempt is successful, but at one point Spock accidentally looks at Kollos without his visor and is driven mad. Although Jones is still bitterly jealous of Spock, Kirk convinces her to use her own mental abilities to heal his mind. Through the meld she in turn gains the ability to contact Kollos telepathically, enabling her to continue with the mission after she departs the Enterprise.